Has anyone done/is anyone doing intermittent fasting?

[Ellen]

I should have been a bit clearer with the remark I made on review I posted. Clearly this girl reversed her diabetes. When I said other people have reversed theirs, what I meant was, they were actually ON the medication, many of them for years, and then got off.

 

[missy]

Hi everyone! There is a fasting documentary that is free on Amazon prime. Just wanted to throw that out there for people who want to check it out. After watching it, I was a bit intrigued but am doing a very minor version of it where I just try to eat dinner as early as possible and delay breakfast by eating it at the office instead of at home. Nothing much to report yet as it has only been a week but so far I "feel" better by letting my food digest longer with an early dinner.

Totally see both points of view and as with everything it depends on the individual. My healthcare professionals feel I need to eat later in the evening as they think low blood sugar is waking me up in the middle of the night and causing my adrenaline to surge further preventing me from getting back to sleep. So I just started having something light closer to bedtime to see if it helps. Also has anyone tried this? Not directly related to the discussion and hope it is OK just to add this. Sorry @Ellen to thread jack in any way and hope you do not mind.

https://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/12/honey-salt-a-magical-mix-for-sleep-more/

 

[Ellen]

I have not heard of that Missy. Of course, sea salt is always good for us (remember, the functional docs recommend 1/2 tsp. in H2O every day anyway for all the minerals and such), as is raw honey. So it sure couldn't hurt you!

 

[Ellen]

I just happened to find this guy on Youtube, have no idea who he really is. However, my question is, if I get my hubby to do IF, will he look like this guy??

I have not watched it yet, but he links a 45 minute video on the science and benefits behind IF.

 

[Ellen]

I've watched half the video he linked, I would not recommend it. Overall it's not what i would recommend (not what we've been discussing, nor what this guy even does), not what most would want to do/live with.

 

[Ellen]

Another book review that warrants posting (that I lnked earlier). She speaks for many. In these reviews, and in the world. Thank God people are finally waking up. It's way past time.

5.0 out of 5 starsLife altering
ByDana Tavanielloon February 25, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I’m a physician and feel I’ve been lied to my entire education and career. I’ve seen patient after patient fail. I myself have failed time and time again. I feel full of hope for myself, my children and the patients in my practice once again.

 

[susan498]

Ellen, no I have not given up sweets but I was not a big eater of them anyway. My big downfall is bread and cereal. I've been a vegetarian all my life and vegan the past 15 years. You can get fat on a plant based diet, I assure you.

I have seen the four hour eating window thing and I'm moving toward that. Most days I eat at 5 am and then at 11 but I'm going to take that down to 10 or 10:30.

It took about 5 months to lose the 70 pounds.

Oh, and I don't do cheat meals. Once I adjusted to this regimen, I did not want to eat after noon.

 

[Ellen]

Susan, thank you for elaborating!

 

[Matata]

I read this thread the day after returning from a 3 wk hiking vacation. I don't like to hike on a full stomach so ate a light breakfast and because exercise depresses my appetite, I also had a light dinner. I also broke all bad habits during those 3 wks -- no sugar, refined carbs, hard alcohol but did drink a few beers -- and ate healthy food. So when I got back and read this thread, it felt like the right time to try IF. The 16:8 fits my schedule. Started on Aug. 2 and to date have lost 5.4 lbs. My intent is not to lose weight (although I ain't complaining and do need to shed some pounds) but to continue the reset that started on vacation to, hopefully, keep from falling back into sugar/carb addiction.

By day 3, I lost all appetite. Googled and found that this is a common occurrence during IF. Some sources said to force yourself to eat and others said not to eat until you're actually hungry. I decided to eat 1 meal a day even though I'm not feeling hungry. The benefits of IF started almost immediately as far as improved energy and sleep. This morning I worked out for the first time since coming home. I was worried that performance would suffer due to lack of food but obviously and unfortunately I have enough stored fat to provide the required energy. I'm still waiting for improved mental acuity to kick in -- that's the one benefit of IF I was most looking forward to but alas, my bulb still shines dimly

 

[Ellen]

Matata, thank you so much for sharing! (I hope everyone who tries this will!)

Congrats on the weight loss, anyway.

I have been reading up on this a lot, and will share a couple things with you. You can use or pitch at your discretion. As far as not being hungry and not knowing whether to eat or not, the longer you get into a fasted state, the more beneficial things start happening. One in particular that I am wanting to research more is something called Autophagy. I will give a couple links on it. The benefits of this are numerous, including anti-aging, rebuilding immune system/healing your gut (and all that that implies), fighting cancer, etc. So as I said, the longer you go on fasting, the deeper into Autophagy you get. So if you could even go one day without eating maybe 2-3 times a month, that would be really helpful. That is what I am going to strive for. (I am officially starting tomorrow). I really hope I get the same effect of just not being hungry, that would make it so much easier. I have read mostly to go until you are hungry, then eat. I'm sure you know, whatever you do really push the water. Also, I have read that working out in a fasted state will definitely encourage Autophagy/weight loss. I have done it a couple times and had no real problem, but then I was so close to this 16:8 schedule anyway. Please keep us posted, I am super interested in hearing what happens.

On another note, I watched a video today where a young gal stated her Thyroid shrank doing IF, which doesn't totally surprise me. If it helps the immune system, which it does, it would stand to reason many things should be helped. I also came across an article where a gal started it and four days later her face was blemish free for the first time in 15 years. She decided to get off to see what happened, and broke out again. Started back up, cleared up. I am almost afraid to hope that could happen for me. I have had some sort of blemish activity since I was a young teen. So we are looking at almost 50 years. The funny thing is, I did the IF 16:8 for like 4 days out of six earlier. All of a sudden I was like, why does my face look so good? I got off it, and my face is pretty much back to normal. It never occurred to me it might be the IF, and I don't know that it was. We'll see what happens.

Here's a very short video (4 min) explaining Autophagy, with a visual which I know helps some people get stuff.

Here is the geeky scientific background, just so people don't think this is a bunch of hooey and dismiss it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5240711/

And here is a fairly comprehensive but easily read article on it.
https://draxe.com/benefits-of-autophagy/

 

[Matata]

Thanks for the info @Ellen, much appreciated. Regarding not eating, I was initially worried that at some point I would crash and it would happen out in public like fainting in the grocery store so I started carrying some grapes in the car just in case. Nothing happened, yet, but I still have that fear that I hope diminishes as time goes on.

I've decided to start taking a multivitamin just to cover the bases. Googled "best multivitamin for women" and found one that is different from all the others and signed up for the subscription today. https://ritual.com/

 

[Ellen]

Matata, I understand not wanting to drop in public! Hopefully all goes well. And that multi looks great, it's got some good stuff in it!

Alert. I did not realize that at the end of the article linked above by Dr. Axe, he expresses the opinion that people who have diabetes should not fast. The book I linked earlier in the thread, The Obesity Code by Dr. Fung, who treats diabetics, would disagree. That is exactly part of how he is reversing diabetes in his patients.

 

[Ellen]

Well I am officialy on IF. I ate a really healthy diet yesterday, though no calorie restictions and definitely had healthy carbs. My dinner ended at 5:40 PM, with a good sized bowl of Quinoa salad. Quinoa, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, feta cheese, red onion, all tossed in a champagne vinegar/dijon mustard/olive oil dressing. Scrumptious. (if anyone wants recipe I will be glad to share)

So I was up at 4:45 and had my usual coffee and water. Got just a titch of grumbling in my tummy about 5:30, which is actually unusual. I ignored it, and basically stayed not hungry until I finally broke fast at 11:10 A.M. I could have gone longer, I really only had the slightest feeling of being light headed, but I felt I had gone long enough for day 1. (17 1/2 hours)

 

[PierreBear]

Way to go @Ellen and all the other people trying it out!

Side comment and I hope ya'll don't mind me going on a tangent. How does your body react after having a big body soup? I don't think healthy soup (not clam chowder or something milk based etc) would be a lot of calories. However, after a big bowl of anything, even without carbs (noodles rice), my weight certainly goes up. Could be liquid retention but it's very drastic that I might have well just have eaten pizza. haha... Anyone else like this? Is it better to just limit soup? I love it even in the summer time though!

 

[Gussie]

I have fasted my whole life since high school. I have always just eaten 1 meal a day. People have always told me how bad it is but I feel better that way. Once I tried to eat small healthy meals through the day and I felt full, bloated, and yucky. And I gained weight in the 2 weeks I did it. My nightly meal is usually large but mostly healthy. Meat, veggies, potatoes, maybe one roll. I do have dessert occasionally. Everyone's body is different imo. I think it's key to find what works for you.

 

[Ellen]

PB, I am thinking it is just water weight, especially if it's high in sodium. And no, you are definitely better off eating soup than pizza. Because the water will pass. (ha!) But the flour will spike your insulin as it turns to sugar, in which case you should have had dessert! Just teasin, you can't have that either. (and actually, there's nothing wrong with clam chowder!)

And thank you!


ceg, you have definitely been on the right path. And while lots of things may work initially, most fail over the long haul. I was just reading today in The Obesity Code, that every time you eat, your insulin spikes. We are made that way, it's normal. However, depending on what you eat determines how fast it goes back down. And, it matter how often you eat. So, what you experienced with the many more, small healthy meals makes total sense that you gained. Your body never had a rest, the insulin was always UP, and elevated insulin eventually causes weight gain. I experienced the same thing with the smaller meals.

I seriously can't recommend this book enough. He explains everything, in depth. There's really no way to read the book and not finally get it!

 

[Matata]

@Ellen, day 1 is done, yay, and you did good. I'm also reading The Obesity Code. Interesting stuff; thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Ellen]

I'm so glad to hear you got the book! (isn't it amazing how we are put together?!) And you're welcome.

This may be one of the best books I've ever bought, and I have bought a lot of books.

 

[PierreBear]

PB, I am thinking it is just water weight, especially if it's high in sodium. And no, you are definitely better off eating soup than pizza. Because the water will pass. (ha!) But the flour will spike your insulin as it turns to sugar, in which case you should have had dessert! Just teasin, you can't have that either. (and actually, there's nothing wrong with clam chowder!)

And thank you!


ceg, you have definitely been on the right path. And while lots of things may work initially, most fail over the long haul. I was just reading today in The Obesity Code, that every time you eat, your insulin spikes. We are made that way, it's normal. However, depending on what you eat determines how fast it goes back down. And, it matter how often you eat. So, what you experienced with the many more, small healthy meals makes total sense that you gained. Your body never had a rest, the insulin was always UP, and elevated insulin eventually causes weight gain. I experienced the same thing with the smaller meals.

I seriously can't recommend this book enough. He explains everything, in depth. There's really no way to read the book and not finally get it!

@Ellen - Thanks for your thoughts. I would like to think it's water weight but it's not like after the water is out of my system do I think... wow I'm looking so much thinner because I had soup the other day. haha appreciate the confirmation to make pizza just a minimal treat from time to time. I'll have to check into the book you recommended. I think that was mentioned in the Amazon Prime movie I watched recently.

I was fairly good yesterday. I did have soup for dinner (loved it!) but stopped eat after 6 and didn't have my breakfast until 8:30 this morning. Not a full fast but just trying to make small changes!

 

[Ellen]

Small changes are good! Just keep working at it a little at a time, you'll get there. Something else that might help, keep your eyes on the long term effects, most things don't work over night.

And I do hope you get the book, every single person should read it. That's really not an exaggeration. In fact I was just getting ready to post another review on it here in a minute.

Hang in there, you're doing great!

 

[Ellen]

I want to post another review on The Obesity Code, by another doctor. And I'm doing this because sometimes, some of us need to hear things over and over before we really start to get it. (and some won't believe things if they don't come from a "professional") One thing that struck me about this doctor was his rather humble attitude. While he had practiced with obese patients for decades, had published topics related to obesity in peer reviewed journals, lectured at Harvard, etc., etc., he realized there was a whole lot he didn't know, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. (Bravo!) Publishing in peer reviewed journals means nothing, if you're publishing misinformation. Something to think about....


5.0 out of 5 starsAn Absolute Must Read, Both for Professionals and the General Public
ByWilliam L. Wilson, M.D.on September 25, 2016
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I have spent over 40 years practicing medicine in the trenches and I have spent much of this time managing patients with metabolic disorders and obesity. I have published on topics related to obesity in peer reviewed journals, lectured at Harvard and other venues and I have relationships with many of the top nutritional researchers in the world. I thought I knew just about everything there is to know about obesity, that is until I was literally blown away when I read Jason Fung’s book “The Obesity Code”. I now know what the term “back to school” really means.

In this outstanding book Dr. Fung first outlines the history of obesity and how we went astray with the faulty calorie concept and “fat is evil” mantra. Up until this point I was familiar with the sad historical information that he presented. He then carefully outlines the biology of obesity, focusing on two key parameters: insulin and insulin resistance. Although I was somewhat familiar with both topics, he presents them in a way that makes perfect sense, both from a clinical and biological standpoint. Each statement is carefully referenced so the reader could go to the source to learn more. Dr. Fung has a very fluid writing style and his concepts are presented in such a way that both medical experts and novices can easily follow his thinking.

When it comes to solutions he presents a well cited summary of the healthiest foods for us to eat and I was already fairly familiar with most of this information. I must admit that in the past I tended to focus on glucose levels because they are easy to measure and follow, but Dr. Fung convinced me that the focus must be on insulin. For example, like most clinicians I had been teaching my patients about the glycemic index and load, which reflect the relative glucose response of various foods. Dr. Fung recommends using the Insulin Index because some foods that do not raise glucose do significantly raise insulin levels and as he points out, it is elevated insulin that leads to obesity and type 2 diabetes. He also points out that in addition to carbohydrates, both protein and fat can sometimes raise insulin levels.

For me the most important information in this book is the absolute importance of separating the glucose response from the insulin response to eating. The other important take home message that hit my brain like a sledgehammer is the issue of timing of meals. I hate to say it but until I read this book I never gave the issue of timing of meals much thought. Dr. Fung weaves a fascinating tale about how the timing of eating is the key to reversing insulin resistance. He outlines how intermittent fasting can be easily incorporated into any treatment program to manage common metabolic problems. I should have figured this one out on my own. When I married my Greek wife I also joined the Greek Orthodox Church and as he points out these folks are the masters of intermittent fasting.

And by the way, don’t make the mistake of measuring your progress by weight loss alone. There really is no such thing as a “weight problem”. Obesity is defined as excessive body fat so the most accurate way to measure progress is by measuring body composition. Because this type of measurement is not easily available to many people, I recommend keeping tabs on your waist measurement at your belly button. You can also get a rough idea how you are doing by how your cloths fit. If you are noticeably shrinking you are likely losing fat even if the scale isn’t changing much.

To summarize, all I can say is if you want to be healthy in today’s world loaded with endless amounts of toxic fake food, you need to read this book. And if like me you also want to read the second best book out there related to diet and health, re-read “The Obesity Code”. It’s so chock full of great information that it’s almost impossible for all of it to sink in on the first read.

 

[Matata]

I'm now fasting between 18-20 hrs; eating 1 meal per day and losing 1.5 to 2 lbs per day. Feeling great, sleeping way better, absolutely no issues.

 

[Ellen]

I'm now fasting between 18-20 hrs; eating 1 meal per day and losing 1.5 to 2 lbs per day. Feeling great, sleeping way better, absolutely no issues.

 

[Ellen]

So I am at the end of day 3. Today was definitely the easiest, though it hasn't really been "hard". I guess I say easiest because I ate at 9:30, which was definitely earlier than I wanted (thought for sure I would be fighting hunger later in the day), but I took a friend out for breakfast and to help her run some errands as she is somewhat handicapped. So I ate a really nice size omelet and american fries, and I literally had to make myself eat again at 5:30. I just wasn't hungry at all, and I ate too much. I'm uncomfortable, even though I really didn't eat that much. I just felt like I should "eat good", but I think I may need to refine the definition of "good".

So overall I am pleased with this whole lifestyle. This is not hard to do at all, and the only things I am "denying" myself of, are things I shouldn't be eating in the first place!

Matata, how many days in were you when the weight started dropping? I am thinking I will take a bit longer? as I am doing 2 meals a day....

 

[Matata]

Matata, how many days in were you when the weight started dropping?

I was down 4 ounces between days 1 & 2. The next two days were 6 & 8 oz. and after that 1-2 lbs per day. I think that hiking vacay pre-programmed me and that likely is the reason why the weight started coming off so quickly.

Fasting has put a major crimp in my traditional girls' night out. Went out for Mexican last night and I had fasted for 26 hours and could eat only a few bites before I was full. I ordered a taco dish with grilled chicken and asked for whole pinto beans and no rice. I ate a few bites of chicken, none of the tortillas but somehow managed to find room for the whole glass of sangria DH is going to be the happy beneficiary of a lot of leftover food.

 

[Ellen]

I was down 4 ounces between days 1 & 2. The next two days were 6 & 8 oz. and after that 1-2 lbs per day. I think that hiking vacay pre-programmed me and that likely is the reason why the weight started coming off so quickly.

Fasting has put a major crimp in my traditional girls' night out. Went out for Mexican last night and I had fasted for 26 hours and could eat only a few bites before I was full. I ordered a taco dish with grilled chicken and asked for whole pinto beans and no rice. I ate a few bites of chicken, none of the tortillas but somehow managed to find room for the whole glass of sangria DH is going to be the happy beneficiary of a lot of leftover food.

Funny how that works.....

Yeah, I went to the store recently, then hit up the farmers market yesterday. Looked at two frig's full of food and thought, who's going to eat this!? This may very well be good for my food bill as well as my waist.

Thanks for elaborating on the weight coming off. Nothing here yet, however, I am also thinking from all my past experience trying to lose that I have gotten myself in quite a state of insulin resistance. So I am prepared for it to take some time.

Interestingly enough, in Dr. Fung's book I read just last night (which you may have too) about studies being done on different diets.

" What was the best diet for maintaining metabolism? The very-low-carbohydrate diet. This diet also seemed to reduce appetite. Dr. G. Boden wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2005, "When we took away the carbohydrates, the patients spontaneously reduced their daily energy consumption by 1000 calories a day." Insulin levels dropped and insulin sensitivity was restored.
Perhaps eating refined carbohydrates leads to "food addictions".

I totally believe this, as I have experienced being off refined carbs for a bit, eating something floury/sugary and immediately wanting more floury/sugary food.

 

[Matata]

@Ellen, I've been convinced for decades that sugar is a highly addictive substance. In partnership with carbs it can and does wreck lives. I've been on a lot of diets throughout my life. Each time I've kicked the sugar/carb addiction all aspects of my health improved, even emotionally. Problem is, no matter how long I'm on the wagon, sooner or later I take a bite of something and, BOOM, I'm deep in the throes of the addiction in no time. I'm hoping that endless cycle will be broken by fasting especially if I'm able to do a reset of my basic weight. In the past when I've reached goal weight, it's like someone else takes control of my body, like I'm watching from a distance, and forces me to eat the bad stuff until I've regained the weight. Because of Fung's book, a least I now understand why that happens and I'll just have to hang in there and hope a reset is achieved and sustained.

 

[Ellen]

@Ellen, I've been convinced for decades that sugar is a highly addictive substance. In partnership with carbs it can and does wreck lives. I've been on a lot of diets throughout my life. Each time I've kicked the sugar/carb addiction all aspects of my health improved, even emotionally. Problem is, no matter how long I'm on the wagon, sooner or later I take a bite of something and, BOOM, I'm deep in the throes of the addiction in no time. I'm hoping that endless cycle will be broken by fasting especially if I'm able to do a reset of my basic weight. In the past when I've reached goal weight, it's like someone else takes control of my body, like I'm watching from a distance, and forces me to eat the bad stuff until I've regained the weight. Because of Fung's book, a least I now understand why that happens and I'll just have to hang in there and hope a reset is achieved and sustained.

I'm so glad you got the book Matata, and I really hope you reach a place where you don't get sucked in again as far as sugar/carbs go. What I am starting to do is to remind myself that besides the weight gain and other adverse affects of sugar, it feeds cancer. That's a known fact, well, known to those who go looking for the truth. So that right there "should" be incentive for me to stay away from it, for the most part anyway. Whether I can indulge occasionally remains to be seen.

 

[Ellen]

Matata, I came across this in looking for something, and thought you "might" find it helpful. He's really knowledgeable.

 

[Matata]

Thanks @Ellen.